Four Senate Republicans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/four-senate-republicans-unite-dems-block-trumps-save-america-act">joined</a> every single Democrat to kill President Donald Trump&#8217;s chosen election integrity legislation for the second time — but Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) fired back with a procedural masterstroke that showed exactly what&#8217;s standing between the SAVE America Act and the president&#8217;s desk: the filibuster.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) once again crossed the aisle to block the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and a photo ID to cast a ballot. The amendment, offered by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as an attachment to the nearly $70 billion reconciliation package funding ICE and Border Patrol, needed 60 votes to clear the filibuster threshold. It never came close.
Graham didn&#8217;t pull punches after the vote. &#8220;There&#8217;s no other reason to say you don&#8217;t have to have an ID,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It just makes cheating easier.&#8221;
Lee then dropped the hammer and took aim at the &#8220;Zombie Filibuster,&#8221; the modern version of the filibuster that allows senators to obstruct legislation without maintaining a talking filibuster.
&#8220;51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight&#8217;s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama,&#8221; Lee posted on X. &#8220;That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump&#8217;s signature.&#8221;
&#8220;If they want to filibuster the SAVE America Act, make them speak,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And if we&#8217;re not willing to make them speak and do the hard work, then it is time to nuke the filibuster.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
51 votes for the SAVE America Act during tonight’s budget reconciliation vote-a-rama
That means that but for the Zombie Filibuster, the House-passed SAVE America Act would now be on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature <a href="https://t.co/3eVv6RpO3C">https://t.co/3eVv6RpO3C</a>
&mdash; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2062749611349991652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had warned before the vote that &#8220;it&#8217;s about the math,&#8221; trying to manage expectations. What the math now shows is that even if the four Republicans voted for the bill, which has overwhelming public support, they still cannot get the bill through.
Democrats, predictably, cried foul. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) insisted &#8220;current safeguards are working&#8221; and dismissed the effort as an attempt to &#8220;ban vote by mail.&#8221; He also complained about transgender-related provisions being added to the amendment during Pride Month, claiming it was &#8220;offensive.&#8221;
The American people want voter ID. A majority of the Senate wants voter ID. The only thing in the way is the filibuster.
The argument against killing the filibuster is that if Democrats gain power, they will ram every conceivable change through the Senate, such as increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court and adding more states to the union that would pad their electoral numbers.

Sen. Mike Lee

Four Republicans Help Democrats Hide Behind The Filibuster — Then Mike Lee Drops The Hammer

Filibuster

Mike Lee

SAVE America Act

U.S. Senate

The speaker chosen to deliver the commencement address at the university where Charlie Kirk was assassinated posted about the “harm” of his words shortly after he was killed. 
Backlash is building after Utah Valley University <a href="https://www.uvu.edu/news/2025/sharon-mcmahon-2026-commencement-speaker.html">announced</a> last month that the supposedly “non-partisan” author Sharon McMahon would be speaking at graduation this year, drawing criticism from conservative students over her social media posts after Kirk’s death. Kirk was gunned down on September 10, 2025, while holding one of his popular campus events at the university in Orem, Utah. 
McMahon, who dubs herself “America’s Government Teacher,” is an educator who frequently focuses her criticism on the Trump administration and conservatives. Shortly after Kirk&#8217;s assassination, McMahon posted a series of out-of-context quotes from Kirk to explain why “there is so much backlash to posts eulogizing his death,” claiming that Kirk “was not a person who simply engaged in good-faith debates on college campuses” if you were black or Muslim. 
Local outlets have <a href="https://kutv.com/news/local/backlash-at-uvu-follows-selection-of-speaker-tied-to-posts-about-charlie-kirk">reported</a> on the posts, which have since been deleted from social media. 
“It’s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words and the ensuing actions his followers took,” McMahon wrote, according to a local CBS affiliate. 
After the university announced that McMahon would be speaking, the Turning Point USA chapter at Utah Valley University <a href="https://x.com/TPUSAatUVU/status/2042340596761997695">released</a> a statement calling the move disappointing. 
“Hours immediately after Charlie’s assassination, Sharon McMahon posted a now deleted series of out-of-context quotes from Charlie in an effort to tarnish his name and minimize the tragedy, rather than offering condolences or condemning political violence,” chapter president Caleb Chilcutt said.
“There are countless better alternatives, and the fact that the university is choosing McMahon is entirely disappointing to all of us still reeling from his loss. I couldn’t be more disappointed in this university for such a hurtful and callous decision,” he added. 
Utah Senator Mike Lee weighed in on the issue, <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2042774342396973415">writing</a> on X, “Who else thinks UVU should find another commencement speaker?”
The university did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire, but previously <a href="https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/04/08/uvu-commencement-speaker-sharon-mcmahon-controversy-charlie-kirk-comments/">told</a> Deseret News that McMahon’s selection was “overwhelmingly positive” and “well received.”

Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University

University Where Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated Taps Speaker Tied To Sick Posts

Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA

Utah

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is calling on President Donald Trump to force the Senate to return from their Easter break as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown drags on.
“President Trump has the power to convene the Senate under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution ‘on extraordinary Occasions,’” the Utah Republican <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2038407140675915995?s=20">posted</a> to X on Sunday.
“If a department with 260,000 employees (DHS) going unfunded isn’t an ‘extraordinary occasion’—especially while the Senate is out on a two-week recess during that shutdown with no plans to resolve the impasse beyond ‘we’ll deal with that in two weeks’—I don’t know what is,” Lee added.
The Senate held a pro forma session on Monday morning, but made no progress toward funding DHS. Last week, the Senate approved a DHS funding deal that excluded ICE and Border Patrol, which Trump opposes, whereas the House passed a bill late on Friday that would extend funding for 60 days for the entire department. Both chambers were permitted to go home after passing their bills.
During the White House press briefing on Monday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is &#8220;encouraging Congress to come back to Washington to permanently fix this problem and to fund and reopen the Department of Homeland Security entirely.&#8221;
A Republican aide told the Daily Wire on background that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Monday morning &#8220;told his colleagues this weekend that he would not bring them back for a show vote but would bring them back if there were a bill that would have the support to pass the Senate.” The aide noted that there is still a preference for the House to pass the Senate-backed bill.
In another post, Lee criticized the Monday session, <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2038630449720008744?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that “no attempt was made to pass DHS funding by unanimous consent,” adding that “the Senate must convene now.”
Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/2038634941756359075?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> on Monday that an effort to pass the House’s bill, known as a continuing resolution, was not attempted because Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) was in attendance in order to kill any effort to do so, as it would ultimately send the legislation to the president’s desk.
However, the North Dakota lawmaker said there could be an attempt made to do so on Thursday, and that he would like to see a three-year-long DHS funding push through reconciliation instead. A reconciliation bill is not subject to a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
As for Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the 60-day CR from the House would be <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/leader-schumer-statement-on-house-republicans-plan-to-try-to-fund-dhs-through-a-60-day-cr-instead-of-passing-the-senate-passed-appropriations-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“dead on arrival,”</a> and House Democrats largely wanted to pass the Senate deal, with all but three of them voting against the House Republican proposal.
“There is a bipartisan bill to end the chaos at airports,” House Minority Leader <a href="https://x.com/RepJeffries/status/2038638198788612366?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hakeem Jeffries</a> (D-NY) posted to X on Monday. “House Republicans rejected it and left town on vacation. Bring the House back. End the GOP shutdown. NOW.”
Rep. <a href="https://x.com/RepMGP/status/2037736452469952621?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marie Gluesenkamp Perez</a> (D-WA), one of the three Democrats who voted for the CR, said that she believes reforming ICE is “necessary” but wanted to make sure federal workers at DHS get paid.
‘The president has agreed to several reforms to ICE — including mandatory body cameras, ID numbers, ending enforcement at hospitals and schools, and other reforms — but only in exchange for full 2026 funding of ICE,” she posted.
“Walking away from DHS funding will not fix anything about ICE and it screws a lot of hard-working people. Ideological purity that empowers a broken system and hurts working people is not what I was sent to Congress to be part of,” the Democrat added.
The impact of the shutdown is expected to be lessened starting this week, after Trump&#8217;s executive order last week to provide TSA officers with pay, as callouts and resignations continue to strain airport security lines.
The Daily Wire reached out to the White House for comment.

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

Calls Grow To Force Congress Back As DHS Shutdown Hinges On One Move

Chis Coons

Congress

Hakeem Jeffries

homeland security

Immigration

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Tuesday that there is not enough support for the talking filibuster pushed by President Donald Trump and some Republican senators, placing the SAVE America Act&#8217;s Senate chances further in doubt.
The talking filibuster, first suggested by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, would potentially clear a path for the GOP-controlled Senate to pass the legislation by forcing Democrats who oppose the SAVE America Act to speak non-stop on the Senate floor if they want to block a vote. Thune said the Republican-controlled Senate, however, doesn&#8217;t have enough support from his party to use the talking filibuster.
“The votes aren’t there, one, to nuke the filibuster, and the votes aren’t there for a talking filibuster,&#8221; Thune <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5776860-thune-blocks-talking-filibuster/">told</a> reporters. &#8220;It’s just a reality. I’m the person who has to deliver sometimes the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up, but those are the facts and there’s no getting around it.”
Trump has ramped up the pressure on Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act before the 2026 midterms, arguing that a law imposing strict voter ID requirements is vital for Republicans to perform well in the upcoming elections. The legislation would require voters to provide proof of citizenship before registration and would prohibit states from sending mail-in ballots to voters, with the only exceptions being illness, disability, military service, or travel.
Sen. Lee, who sponsored the legislation, told The Daily Wire that Senate Republicans need &#8220;to push even harder&#8221; to get the SAVE America Act across the finish line.
&#8220;Voters across the nation are demanding the SAVE America Act. If we need a few more Senators to get on board to beat a Democrat standing filibuster, that’s not a reason to give up — it’s a reason to push even harder,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If Republicans don’t fight hard to deliver this wildly popular legislation that President Trump has specifically requested, how can we ask Americans to entrust us with both chambers of Congress in the future?&#8221;
Recent polling has shown that despite harsh Democratic opposition to the SAVE America Act, a majority of Americans support strict voter ID requirements.
On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the SAVE America Act &#8220;one of the most critical pieces of legislation in our nation&#8217;s history.&#8221;
&#8220;Passing the SAVE America Act is the most important thing that Republicans and frankly, Democrats, can do to strengthen election integrity and protect democracy,&#8221; Leavitt added. &#8220;It&#8217;s what the American people elected Republicans to do, and they must deliver on it as soon as possible.&#8221;
The press secretary also slammed Democrats for promoting the &#8220;myth&#8221; that the legislation would make it more difficult for women to vote.
&#8220;As far as married women who have changed their name, if they&#8217;re already registered to vote, they&#8217;re entirely unaffected by the SAVE Act, and for the some fraction of individuals who have changed their name or their address, they can still register to vote, of course. They just have to go through their state processes to update that documentation,&#8221; Leavitt continued.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/front-of-the-line-trump-says-he-wont-sign-a-thing-until-save-act-hits-his-desk">said</a> on Sunday that he would not sign any other legislation until the SAVE America Act is sent to his desk. The White House kept the pressure up on Tuesday, urging Americans to &#8220;DEMAND&#8221; that their senators get on board with the Save America Act.
&#8220;We either fix the integrity of America&#8217;s elections, or we won&#8217;t have a country left to fight for,&#8221; the White House <a href="https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2031396991238869117">posted</a> on X. The post also included a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/saveamerica/">link</a> to a White House webpage that provided contact information for each U.S. senator&#8217;s office.
Thune <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-paid-influencer-ecosystem-it-just-entered-the-election-integrity-fight?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+%E2%80%98Paid+Influencer+Ecosystem%E2%80%99%3F+It+Just+Entered+The+Election+Integrity+Fight">said</a> on Monday that much of the pressure campaign on the SAVE America Act is coming from conservative activists on X, which he called a &#8220;paid influencer ecosystem,&#8221; not from within the Senate itself.
&#8220;We want to get to the SAVE Act,&#8221; Thune added, but he warned that a talking filibuster would make other priorities much &#8220;harder&#8221; to address.
The Senate effectively ended the talking filibuster in the 1970s and moved to the silent filibuster, which has allowed the opposition to stall votes only by stating their intent to filibuster, and thereby require 60 votes to invoke cloture. Trump, who also pushed for the Senate to abolish the filibuster, has suggested that he would take executive action to impose voter ID and citizenship requirements if Congress doesn&#8217;t pass the SAVE America Act.

John Thune

One Senator’s Final Plea To Save The SAVE America Act

2026 Midterms

Donald Trump

Politics

Senate

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would implement strict voter ID requirements &#8220;one way or the other,&#8221; and suggested that Senate Republicans could use an old practice known as the &#8220;talking filibuster&#8221; to overcome Democrat obstruction.
Senate Republicans are trying to muster enough support behind the Save America Act after a revamped version of the bill passed the House last week. Democrats, however, have the numbers to block the legislation since it first needs to clear the 60-vote threshold to get past the filibuster. Trump, however, said that Republicans have another idea to get over the Democrats&#8217; hurdle and pass the Save America Act before the 2026 midterm elections.
&#8220;We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other, after approval by Congress through the very proper use of the Filibuster or, at minimum, by a Talking Filibuster, à la &#8216;Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'&#8221; Trump said, referring to the classic Jimmy Stewart film, where Stewart&#8217;s character, Mr. Smith, postpones a vote by speaking for 25 straight hours on the Senate floor.
Mr. Smith&#8217;s tactic is now referred to as a &#8220;talking filibuster,&#8221; a practice that was largely done away with in the 1970s when the Senate started the silent filibuster, allowing the opposition to stall votes only by stating their intent to filibuster, and thereby require 60 votes to invoke cloture.
Trump and Republicans hope that a long talking filibuster would cause Democrats to lose steam on their effort to stall the vote on the Save America Act and give Republicans a chance to pass it with a simple majority. Under the talking filibuster, however, Democrats could take turns speaking on the floor.
The idea was first floated by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who introduced the Save America Act in the Senate. Lee has been whipping up support for the legislation in the Senate, and at least 50 Republican senators have expressed support for the bill, giving the GOP the numbers they need to pass the Save America Act if they can get past the filibuster. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is the only Republican who has come out against the bill.
The revamped version of the bill aims to prevent illegal immigrants from voting and would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote along with photo ID before they cast their ballots, meaning people would have to show additional documentation such as a passport or a birth certificate.
Trump backed the talking filibuster idea for the Save America Act after his recent push to abolish the filibuster was shot down by Republican Senate leaders. Senator Lee clarified on Wednesday that the talking filibuster would not be a change to current Senate rules.
&#8220;People continue to suggest that we&#8217;re trying to change the Senate rules or trying to nuke the filibuster. The talking filibuster doesn&#8217;t require a single change to a single rule,&#8221; Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2024218640439300116">said</a>. &#8220;It simply requires the enforcement of rules and procedures that have lain dormant and unenforced and unused in a long time, the purpose of which is to perpetuate debate.&#8221;
Lee argued that Democrats should not be granted the &#8220;benefit&#8221; of a silent cloture, as the Save America Act has the support of a majority of Congress, the president, and is extremely popular among the American people. Recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-undercuts-democrat-voter-suppression-claims">polling</a> has shown that the vast majority of American voters back strict voter ID requirements similar to those proposed in the Save America Act.
Democrats argue that the Save America Act would &#8220;disenfranchise&#8221; up to 21 million voters and result in &#8220;Jim Crow 2.0,” the same criticism Democrats used for Georgia’s photo ID law that passed in 2021.
If the talking filibuster doesn&#8217;t work, Trump has suggested taking executive action to ensure voter ID requirements.
&#8220;There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.

Donald Trump/Jimmy Steward

Trump Eyes Hollywood-Inspired Tactic To Safeguard Elections

Illegal Immigration

President Donald Trump called for Republicans to get a national voter ID law passed ahead of the midterm elections, saying that he would take executive action if Congress could not get it done.
Trump’s call comes after the SAVE America Act requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in elections <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-revamped-bill-to-prevent-illegal-immigrants-from-voting-senate-battle-looms">passed</a> the House on Wednesday and headed to the Senate.
“We cannot let the Democrats get away with NO VOTER I.D. any longer. These are horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS. They have all sorts of reasons why it shouldn’t be passed, and then boldly laugh in the backrooms after their ridiculous presentations,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “If it weren’t such a serious matter, it would be considered a TOTAL JOKE! No Voter I.D. is even crazier, and more ridiculous, than Men playing in Women’s Sports, Open Borders, or Transgender for Everyone.”
Trump said Republicans should be talking about the issue in every speech, pointing to polling that most Americans support voter ID laws.
“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW!” Trump said. “If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”
Trump said that if Democrats took back power, they would move to make Washington, D.C.,  and Puerto Rico states, pack the Supreme Court, and remove the filibuster in the Senate.
“Our Country will never be the same if they allow these demented and evil people to knowingly, and happily, destroy it,” Trump said.
According to the <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id">National Conference of State Legislatures</a>, &#8220;Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. The remaining 14 states and Washington, D.C., use other methods to verify the identity of voters. Most frequently, other identifying information provided at the polling place, such as a signature, is checked against information on file.&#8221;
After the House passed the SAVE America Act on Wednesday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has been pushing for it to move forward in the Senate. He has already picked up 49 Republican co-sponsors of the legislation and got commitment to support the bill from Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).
In a <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2022447031386804662">video</a> posted to social media, Lee said that Republicans in the Senate should now move forward to debate and force Democrats to use the “talking filibuster” instead of the “zombie filibuster.”
Polling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-undercuts-democrat-voter-suppression-claims">released</a> by Cygnal this week found that 72% of white voters, 69% of Hispanic voters, and 56% of black voters support requiring identification at the polls.

President Trump And EPA Administrator Zeldin Make An Announcement From The White House

Trump Floats Executive Action On Voter ID If Congress Doesn’t Act

Election Laws

Elections

Voter ID

Hours after the African Development Foundation&#8217;s chief financial officer admitted to bribery, the Senate voted on whether to abolish the obscure federal aid agency. The vote only required a simple majority, yet it <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1192/vote_119_2_00017.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> 42-58 after 11 Republicans joined all Democrats to &#8220;table&#8221; the amendment.
&#8220;Republicans acting alone could have defunded it — and should have done so after USADF’s acting chairman and CEO called for it to be defunded, based on what he described as a culture of chronic fraud, waste, and abuse within USADF,&#8221; the amendment&#8217;s sponsor, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2017377363856654624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I look forward to hearing my colleagues explain their votes.&#8221;
The Daily Wire asked all 11 senators for their rationale over the weekend, and none replied. The Republicans are:
<ul class="ul-list" data-mark="*">
<li class="md-list-item">John Boozman (AR)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Shelley Capito (WV)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Susan Collins (Maine)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Kevin Cramer (ND)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Lindsey Graham (SC)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">John Hoeven (ND)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Mitch McConnell (KY)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Jerry Moran (KS)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Thom Tillis (NC)</li>
<li class="md-list-item">Roger Wicker (MS)</li>
</ul>
The African Development Foundation staff locked its doors to prevent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers from auditing it, making the agency a cause célèbre of the Left. But its chief financial officer, Mathieu Zahui, this week agreed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-official-of-usaid-linked-foreign-aid-agency-to-plead-guilty-to-taking-bribes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plead guilty</a> to taking bribes and lying to law enforcement. One of the African groups to which the agency steered money was run by Zahui&#8217;s friend — a fellow former federal employee — who got contracts for doing no work, and wired some of it to Zahui&#8217;s personal bank account.
The Daily Wire broke the story of the African Development Foundation&#8217;s corruption, including Zahui&#8217;s bribes, in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-foreign-aid-agency-locked-its-doors-to-keep-doge-out-now-we-know-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May expose</a>. The story showed how many of those who have seen the agency operate up-close believe it should be abolished, even though they almost all identify as liberals.
The agency would give money to African groups as &#8220;grants,&#8221; so it looked like it was complying with its mission, then require the African groups to pay bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. For example, the story said:
<blockquote>In one instance, the African Development Foundation awarded a grant to a Kenyan journalism group called Africa 24 and directed that group to, in turn, pay the salaries of Americans at the federal agency’s D.C. headquarters.</blockquote>
It recounted how the agency allegedly retaliated against its own general counsel after he told officials to stop breaking the law. The general counsel, Mateo Dunne, found that its then-CEO, C.D. Glin, had omitted his affiliation with an outside group, Root Capital, from his legally required ethics disclosures, while ADF directed money to that group.
In another example, agency program manager Kate Ristroph said in a videotaped internal investigative interview that:
<blockquote>The agency gave grants to the Association of Ghana Industries on the condition that it pay Pyxera Global, a D.C. organization where Glin previously worked as director of business development, to “do a study of the artisan sector in Ghana.” &#8230;  “We’re in that murky territory of like, is this legal?” she said. “The CEO specifically directed it.”
She said the agency trains African grantees to avoid third-world style corruption by only giving out contracts that have been competitively bid at arms length, yet she was forced to tell them that the Americans were ordering them to do the opposite. “It puts me in a compromising position,” she said.</blockquote>
Dunne found that the African Development Foundation appeared to be pushing the for-profit pyramid scheme Herbalife on African peasants because Herbalife&#8217;s then-CEO was on the agency&#8217;s board.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-foreign-aid-agency-locked-its-doors-to-keep-doge-out-now-we-know-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This Foreign Aid Agency Locked Its Doors To Keep DOGE Out. Now We Know Why.</a>
Glin was so abusive that one white junior employee soiled herself after Glin made her afraid to leave her desk to use the bathroom, Dunne&#8217;s investigation found.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When USADF blocked DOGE from accessing their building last year, Democrats applauded.
Now we know it is because USADF was hiding bribes, kickbacks, and fraud.
I have filed the Terminate Unaccountable Spending, Abuse, Deception, and Fraud (USADF) Act to defund these crooks. <a href="https://t.co/UoQ0qW1OYc">https://t.co/UoQ0qW1OYc</a>
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/2017326311916683537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Employees warned the public through the employee review site Glassdoor about how dysfunctional the agency was:
<blockquote>Brandi James, the agency’s chief of staff, said in an internal email that she tried to use government funds to pay GlassDoor to remove negative posts, but the site refused, leaving them available for anyone who cared to look.</blockquote>
Glin was later replaced by Travis Adkins, who arrived in 2021 after a stint at USAID as a political appointee in the Biden administration. Adkins&#8217; assistant, who is black, filed a sworn affidavit saying “Mr. Adkins told me that he wanted his entire team (to include the General Counsel) to consist only of Black people. He wanted all of his direct reports to be Black.” Adkins has denied the allegations.
“The contracts don’t make sense, and they know [DOGE] will find lots of wrongdoing and illegal activity,” the assistant said. “I’m not a fan of DOGE, but some of the things they’re doing need to be done. They have been operating like this for years, and no one did anything about it.”
It is impossible to know why Democrats and 11 Republicans are defending the agency, since they won&#8217;t say. But if it is because they believe misconduct was limited to just Zahui, Dunne told The Daily Wire that “this is not the story of one rotten apple. It is the story of an agency that is corrupt, root and branch.&#8221;
After Dunne raised issues of misconduct, he has said, a broad spectrum of the agency&#8217;s brass began viciously retaliating against him, with Acting CEO Elisabeth Feleke even calling the police on him. Adkins placed Dunne on leave for six months, despite a law limiting &#8220;investigative leave.&#8221;
<blockquote>The evidence of insubordination was that he had investigated apparent spending on luxuries and personal items by top staff, when Acting CEO Elisabeth Feleke said, “I have not given Mateo direction or mandate to investigate credit card fraud.”</blockquote>
Adkins was forthright with the board’s chair, Jack Leslie, about what was really going on:
<blockquote>He wrote to Leslie that Dunne was placed on leave for his “efforts to damage USADF’s reputation via the Office of Inspector General.”</blockquote>
The Office of Inspector General investigation led to Zahui&#8217;s guilty plea.
A left-wing law firm has been suing to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-orders-foreign-aid-agency-resurrected-after-african-company-sues">prevent</a> President Donald Trump&#8217;s appointee as acting chairman, Pete Marocco, from leading the agency.
“The U.S. African Development Foundation provides no value to the American people, and every one of the Senators know it–even the ones who vote in favor of it,” Marocco, who led the abolition of USAID, said.

Lindsay Graham, John Boozman

Corrupt Foreign Aid Agency Lives On After 11 Republicans Vote Against Defunding

USAID

A Trump administration staffer is receiving warm words and calls for recognition after he was reportedly beaten in Washington, D.C., while protecting a woman from an attempted carjacking.
The staffer, Ed Coristine, 19, who once went by the moniker “Big Balls” online, works at the Social Security Administration and began his government service as a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project. President Donald Trump shared a photo on Tuesday of Coristine covered in blood after the attack and threatened to “federalize” D.C. over rampant crime.
“I have to say that somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt last night. You saw that – a young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in DC,” said Trump on Tuesday. “Either they&#8217;re going to straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection, or we&#8217;re going to have to federalize and run it the way it&#8217;s supposed to be run.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Somebody from <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGE</a> was very badly hurt last night&#8230; a young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in D.C. Either they&#8217;re going to straighten their act out&#8230; or we&#8217;re going to have to federalize and run it the way it&#8217;s supposed to be run.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Z6Ywr9oYYX">https://t.co/Z6Ywr9oYYX</a> <a href="https://t.co/yhg9mRfDaF">pic.twitter.com/yhg9mRfDaF</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1952840166458195972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-doge-staffer-edward-coristine-injured-in-attempted-carjacking-trump-federal-takeover-of-d-c/">According</a> to CBS News, the woman was Coristine&#8217;s &#8220;significant other.&#8221; The outlet reported that they were surrounded by about 10 teenagers, and the suspects made a comment about taking their vehicle. Coristine then pushed his significant other into the vehicle and turned to deal with the alleged attackers, the report said.
In a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114977985620971126">post</a>, the president said that crime in the nation’s capital is “totally out of control” and that the attack on Coristine was carried out by “local ‘youths’ and gang members.” Criminal teens are operating with impunity, “knowing that they will be almost immediately released.”
“The Law in D.C. must be changed to prosecute these ‘minors’ as adults, and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14,” said Trump. &#8220;Washington, D.C., must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see.”
The attack reportedly happened on Sunday morning around 3 a.m. near Dupont Circle. Police arrested two 15-year-olds at the scene and charged them with unarmored carjacking, according to CBS News. Most of the teens fled when law enforcement arrived. A black iPhone 16 was stolen, according to the police report.
Tech titan Elon Musk, the former head of DOGE, backed the president’s call to take over Washington, D.C. Musk also said Coristine was attacked trying to assist a woman who was the initial target of “a gang of about a dozen young men.”
“A few days ago, a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in DC. A [DOGE] team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her. It is time to federalize DC,” Musk posted.
Coristine has been hailed for his bravery. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah floated the idea of rewarding Coristine with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.
“Big Balls for the Medal of Freedom. Who agrees?” Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1952877203919913290">posted</a> to X.
“WOW. The [DOGE] employee who was brutally beaten in DC for defending a woman has been identified as none other than ‘BIG BALLS,’” the popular account Libs of TikTok <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1952869965742158269">posted</a>. “Big Balls is a HERO!”

Police lights

Trump Admin Staffer ‘Big Balls’ Hailed As Hero After Musk Says He Saved Woman From ‘Gang’ In D.C.

Crime

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Elon Musk

U.S.

Washington D.C.

White House

The Senate voted Tuesday to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” bringing President Donald Trump&#8217;s chief legislative package one step closer to the finish line.
The bill, which the House of Representatives passed in May, underwent some changes in the Upper Chamber. The bill now returns to the House, which will either pass the amended bill and send it to the president&#8217;s desk, or further revise the text. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is hoping for the former.
&#8220;This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law,&#8221; Johnson <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1940081814011367470" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;House Republicans are ready to finish the job and put the One Big Beautiful Bill on President Trump’s desk in time for Independence Day.&#8221;
Here are the biggest changes the Senate made to the bill.
<h3>The Name</h3>
Thanks to a last-second effort by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is no longer called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“I just got the name struck off this bill with a move on the floor of the Senate,&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://x.com/SenSchumer/status/1940080529413427340" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted </a>on X. &#8220;It is no longer named &#8216;One Big Beautiful Bill.&#8217; The bill is a BIG, UGLY BETRAYAL of the American people by the Republicans.”
<h3>The AI Moratorium</h3>
Senators also stripped a provision from the bill that would have paused all state regulations of artificial intelligence for 10 years.
The provision was an early sticking point for the legislation. After voting for the bill, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1929946902566494653" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “We have no idea what AI will be capable of in the next 10 years and giving it free rein and tying states&#8217; hands is potentially dangerous. … When the OBBB comes back to the House for approval after Senate changes, I will not vote for it with this in it.”
Senate Republicans originally tried to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republicans-scrap-deal-big-beautiful-bill-lower-restrictions-states-ai-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amend</a> the provision, lowering the time to five years and scrapping the absolute moratorium in favor of a few listed restrictions. But the deal fell through when the Senate voted 99-1 to strike the AI provision from the bill.
<h3>Public Land Sales</h3>
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) voted to advance the bill after withdrawing a controversial provision that would have allowed the federal government to sell off public lands, largely in the West.
Lee said the provision — which had irked some <a href="https://x.com/TimSheehyMT/status/1939047707106038251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other</a> Republican <a href="https://x.com/SenatorRisch/status/1939138126125113473" target="_blank" rel="noopener">senators</a> from Western states, and caused a stir among Democrats, too — had to be cut because the Senate&#8217;s strict budget reconciliation rules made it hard to guarantee that public land could not be sold to foreign countries or major companies instead of American families.
Still, Lee argued that the clause would have allowed for the federal government to sell off land for affordable housing and infrastructure.
&#8220;I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land,&#8221; Lee said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/1939132778605388207" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;Land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation.&#8221;
<h3>Murkowski&#8217;s Demands</h3>
The last Republican holdout, Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/us/politics/murkowski-republican-bill.html?smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> major changes — which she argued were beneficial to her constituents — before agreeing to vote yes.
The bill seeks to impose spending cuts on food stamps and Medicaid. Murkowski was worried that the strict cuts would disproportionately affect Alaska, which relies heavily on federal funding for those programs. Senators eventually agreed to exempt Alaska from potential changes to food stamps, and to increase federal funding for <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/01/congress/gop-boosts-rural-hospital-fund-00435147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rural hospitals</a> by $25 billion over the next five years.
Senators also removed a controversial <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5379529-solar-wind-excise-tax-senate-gop-megabill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">solar and wind tax</a> from the bill, hoping to appease Murkowski. The tax would have targeted solar and wind projects that used parts produced in China, among other things.
Despite the concessions, Murkowski walked away unhappy with the bill.
“My goal throughout the reconciliation process has been to make a bad bill better for Alaska, and in many ways, we have done that,” Murkowski <a href="https://x.com/lisamurkowski/status/1940124362625175934" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “But, let’s not kid ourselves. This has been an awful process.”

Trump’s Tax Bill Passes US Senate As Republicans Notch Major Win

Here Are The Major Things The Senate Changed In The Big, Beautiful Bill

Artificial Intelligence

Budget Bill

Lisa Murkowski

Medicaid

Mike Johnson

Senate Republicans

West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore and Utah Senator Mike Lee on Tuesday introduced legislation that would ensure that new moms are not “penalized” under federal law for deciding to leave the workforce and stay home with their child. 
The Republican lawmakers introduced a new bill that would amend the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that parents are not required to pay back health care costs if they decide to stay home after the birth of their child. The bill, first shared with The Daily Wire, is titled the Fairness for Stay-at-Home-Parents Act.
“Being pro-life means being pro-family. That means ensuring families aren’t penalized for deciding to have a parent stay home with their new baby,” Moore told The Daily Wire. “Our bill ensures families won&#8217;t face a huge bill for insurance premiums simply for choosing what&#8217;s best for their family.”
If passed, the legislation could save families thousands of dollars if a parent decides to stay at home to take care of their child after parental leave. Currently, employers are allowed to claw back insurance premiums if a parent decides to leave the workforce. Family insurance premiums cost an average of $25,000 dollars per year. 
The legislation would “prohibit an employer from recovering any health care premium paid by the employer for an employee if the employee fails to return to work due to the birth of a child,&#8221; according to a copy of the legislation shared with The Daily Wire. 
Lee said that the intent of the bill was to help growing American families. 
“Our legislation rectifies a problem with the Family and Medical Leave Act that unfairly impacts mothers who decide to stay home with their newborns after maternity leave,” Lee told The Daily Wire. “Each additional financial burden we can remove from growing American families is a victory, and this bill will make it easier for hundreds of thousands of new parents to care for their kids.” 
The legislation has earned the endorsement of conservative groups, including the American Principles Project and the Human Coalition. 
Brad Wilcox, a fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, says he thought the proposal from the lawmakers was a good policy that would help give parents more choice. 
“Family policy should give parents the choice to care for their young children,” he said. “The Fairness for Stay-at-Home-Parents Act does this, which is why I think it is a smart idea.”

Hand holding newborn baby’s hand

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Bill Would Save Thousands For Parents Who Stay Home With Kids

family

Health Care

Pro-Life Movement

Riley Moore

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed recent &#8220;swatting&#8221; incidents that unfolded this week by saying that the Bureau was working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
The statement from Patel comes after several conservative media figures and influencers said this week that they had been swatted.
&#8220;I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures,&#8221; Patel said. &#8220;The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.&#8221;
&#8220;Swatting&#8221; is a dangerous and illegal prank where a person contacts law enforcement and makes false claims about an event taking place at a specific address — like a mass shooting or hostage situation — with the aim of generating a large law enforcement response to that address.
Patel continued, &#8220;This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement against ANY American is not only morally reprehensible but also endangers lives, including those of our officers. That will not be tolerated.&#8221;
He added that the FBI was working with local law enforcement departments to crack down on the crimes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want to address the alarming rise in ‘Swatting’ incidents targeting media figures. The FBI is aware of this dangerous trend, and my team and I are already taking action to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
This isn’t about politics—weaponizing law enforcement…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1900536072871768094?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
U.S. Attorney Ed Martin said in a statement after some of the swatting incidents became public this week that if any of the perpetrators were discovered in the District of Columbia, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) suggested on Thursday that swatting should be &#8220;prosecuted as attempted murder.&#8221;
&#8220;If you send heavily armed men to someone’s house with a false assertion that a violent crime is being committed there, you’re creating a grave risk that an innocent person will get shot,&#8221; he said.

Kash Patel

FBI Going After Those Responsible For Recent ‘Swatting’ Incidents

kash patel

Swatting

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans defeated an attempt by their Democrat colleagues to undo President Donald Trump&#8217;s day-one national emergency declaration.
Members voted <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00095.htm#position" target="_blank" rel="noopener">52-47</a> along party lines. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-senator-suffers-brain-bleed-after-falling-on-ice-during-seizure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recovering</a> after falling and suffering a brain bleed after hitting the back of his head, missed the vote.
&#8220;For the last four years, American energy production was crippled by a woke, green agenda,&#8221; Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) <a href="https://x.com/SenatorRisch/status/1894885644398149762" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X on Wednesday as the effort met defeat.
He added: &#8220;President Trump’s energy emergency declaration takes the necessary steps to reverse Democrats’ Green New Deal and prioritize our domestic energy and natural resources.&#8221;
On the first day of his second term in the White House, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-energy-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> the national emergency declaration, which ordered agencies to boost energy domestic production and infrastructure.
&#8220;That&#8217;s a big one,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1881512224000463246" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;You know what that allows you to do? It means you can do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem. And we do have that kind of an emergency.&#8221;
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) led the effort to <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-and-heinrich-unveil-legislation-to-terminate-president-trumps-sham-energy-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;terminate&#8221;</a> the order via a joint resolution.
While claiming the order would kill jobs, raise costs on families, and weaken economic competitiveness, the Democrats made their resolution &#8220;privileged,&#8221; which forced a vote on it.
&#8220;Today&#8217;s vote goes to show, once again, that Senate Republicans refuse to do their jobs and put the American people above the wish lists of Trump&#8217;s donors and billionaire energy tycoons,&#8221; they <a href="https://x.com/SenTimKaine/status/1894892222421537180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Kaine and Heinrich added: &#8220;To our colleagues: don&#8217;t say we didn&#8217;t warn you when your constituents&#8217; energy bills go through the roof. To the American people: we&#8217;re going to keep fighting for you.&#8221;
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT) worked to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-gop-fights-dems-to-preserve-trumps-day-one-energy-emergency-declaration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rally</a> his fellow Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, in opposition to the resolution.
He said: &#8220;Senate Republicans won&#8217;t let Democrats delay and obstruct any longer and will ensure the President has the tools necessary to deliver the results the American people expect.&#8221;

President Donald Trump

Senate Rejects Dem Bid To Kill Trump’s Day-One Energy Emergency Declaration

Energy

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